Director of Shaanxi’s Provincial Administration Bureau for
Work Safety, Yang Dacai was called “watch brother” by Chinese netizens.
As Yang’s smile at a deadly bus crash scene cost him the job,

Yang’s backstage supporter, deputy governor of Shaanxi
Li Jinzhu has caught the public’s attention.
It is said that Li was so excited in defending Yang Dacai that
he broke a cup while criticizing what he called “Internet mobs”.
Li’s act quickly drew netizens to do
a “Human flesh search” on him.
However, the posts about Li Jinzhu were found to be
deleted overnight as if China’s Internet world was overshadowed by a huge hand.
Analysts remarked that, there’s a limit line for the CCP’s
anti-corruption drive, and it won’t punish officials at the ministerial level.

Yang Dacai is called “watch brother” since he owns a dozen
luxury watches.
Since Yang’s case was put into investigation by the provincial
commission of discipline inspection, deputy governor
of Shaanxi Li Jinzhu was revealed to have shouted angrily
in a conference of the provincial standing committee.
Li said, “We shouldn’t be confused by those ‘Internet mobs’.

Even if Dacai has a corruption problem,
I don’t think he should be investigated.
We can’t investigate him just to accept the request of ‘mobs’.

Instead, we should object to such a bad tendency from
Internet users.
This is extremely important for our party’s prestige among
citizens , as well as toward a successful 18th National Congress.”

Li Jinzhu also said that, “In comparison, how many luxury
watches Dacai owns is only a trivial detail of his personal life.
It doesn’t matter how many luxury watches he has.

I also have several of them which were given by my oversea s
relatives as presents. Is there anything wrong with this?”

Li’s words consequently led to a great disturbance
on the Internet.
Chinese netizens quickly gave him the nickname
of “watch uncle”.
They doubted that Li is a “naked and higher corrupt official”
hidden behind Yang Dacai as his backstage supporter,
and did “human flesh searches” on Li.

Several pictures of Li Jinzhu with watches were first
released online.
Netizens then called on professionals to estimate
the price of the watches displayed.

However, some mysterious power intervened in the situation,
like a huge hand overshadowing China’s Internet world.
Just overnight, the posts about “watch uncle” Li Jinzhu
were completely deleted.
Sina’s weibo site has blocked “Li Jinzhu” as well as
“watch brother” and “watch uncle” as banned terms.
Another homophonic name of Li Jinzhu “Li Gold Pig”
was also blocked.
At the same time, the CCP’s mouthpiece media published
articles which made intimidating comments saying
that doing “human flesh searches” on CCP officials to reveal
their private details might violate the law.

(Zhu Xinxin, former editor of Hebei People’s Radio Station):
”The CCP authority has no acceptable reason for refusing citizens’request of investigating officials’ properties.
They may try to hold the problem right now
but they can’t keep on like this forever.
A most advisable choice is to build a system of declaring
officials’ properties as soon as possible.
Otherwise the CCP will place itself in a worse position and
lose more of its ruling legitimacy.”

Beijing Constitutional scholar Chen Yongmiao
pointed out that,
the CCP almost never punishes ministerial-level officials
to protect its privileged class.

(Chen Yongmiao): ”There’s a limit line to the CCP’s
anti-corruption activities.
It appears that officials at higher than ministerial level
will avoid punishment.
For example, the investigation of Lai Changxing’s case
stopped at a vice ministerial-level official.
Simply speaking, officials at higher levels have a better chance
of corruption and a lower chance of being investigated.”

Shortly afterwards, Shaanxi government also made
an official announcement denying Li Jinzhu’s words in Yang Da Cai’s defense.
Chen Yongmiao remarked that, the official denial could only
make the story more convincing.

(Chen Yongmiao):”If Li hadn’t defended Yang Dacai
with those words,
his name wouldn’t have been exposed on the Internet and
netizens wouldn’t have known about him.
It is hard to believe that he was exposed without saying
anything at all or getting involved in Yang’s case.”

(Tang Jingling, Chinese lawyer):”It has been many years
since the proposal of declaring officials’ properties has caught public attention.
Many civil activists are also actively promoting the plan.
However, there has been no progress at the legislative level.
From what I learn from some recently revealed data, 90%
of the legislators in the CCP’s National People’s Congress
object to the idea because almost all of them hold a huge
sum of property from unidentified sources.”

On September 26th, a source from Shaanxi provincial party
committee revealed through email that,
Li Jinzhu is under suspicion of serious corruption because of
a huge difference between his legal income and the value of his properties.
He has more than 20 high-level houses and over 100 lovers,
many of whom were provided by Yang Dacai.

Li Jinzhu’s senior subordinate Zhao Zhengcai has succeeded
Yang Dacai’s position as Yang was dismissed.
Some netizens believe that, Zhao’s promotion right serves
Li Jinzhu as an “extinguisher” of the event.